Writing
Stories published in the Brigham Young University student paper, the Daily Universe
By Jason Sweat
- Tue, 01/05/2010 - 20:43When people think of Utah, they think Mormons, Great Salt Lake or the Utah Jazz. Something they don’t likely think of but that is becoming increasingly more recognizable is dancers.
Dancing in front of a large group of people is challenging, yet many people from the conservative state of Utah are gaining national attention for doing just that.
With Donny Osmond recently winning the ABC dance competition show “Dancing with the Stars” and with three contestants from Utah in the finals of “So You Think You Can Dance,” the nation is turning its attention to Utah.
Mollee Gray from Utah made it to the top 20 finalists on “So You Think You Can Dance” before being eliminated.
Ryan and Ashleigh Di Lello were the first married couple to make it to the finals of the show and both are BYU graduates.
In a culture that values humility, modesty and hard work, it’s not immediately apparent why there have been some nationally recognized dancers produced in Utah. Some local dancers theorize that the culture itself fosters the growth of performers.
Sam Alva, a pre-music major who dances in a group called Folklore Latino and also BYU’s International Folk Dance Ensemble, said, “I remember going to the big ward dance parties as a kid and really enjoying all the dancing. I loved the exposure to all the fun college-age counselors dancing at EFY camps growing up and so I was excited to learn the line dances at our youth stake dances.”
Alva said the culture has made all the difference in how he has approached performing.
“I think the first time I performed in front of an audience must have been the primary programs in sacrament meeting when I was really young,” Alva said. “I think that in the western U.S. particularly, the dance culture remains strong in LDS communities, especially since wholesome dance and recreation is something that is a part of our faith.”
BYU Salsa Club President Ana Marquez said the culture has had a big impact on her dancing.
“The LDS dance community (Club Style, Salsa Club, Swing Kids, BYU Ballroom team, etc.) ... (is) truly focused on providing all, beginners and professionals, the opportunity and the place to have fun and learn more. Your group of friends becomes broader every time you go dancing; I love it.”
Aside from BYU, there are lots of dance schools and groups in Utah County and even a few dance clubs.
“The dance venues in Provo are pretty good,” said Mark Borchelt, a professor of ballet at Utah Valley University. “I [have been] performing professionally for 14 years and toured throughout the U.S. performing in such venues as the Kennedy Center and City Center in New York and have taught internationally.”
The first time Borchelt can remember performing in front of people was in a church preschool where he participated in a child sermon.
When asked about what he thought of the dance atmosphere in the valley, he said, “It is quite vibrant and springs from deep roots; the training is generally quite strong and features a broad spectrum of styles.”
Broad is a good word to describe the styles found locally, as there are groups that feature dances from all around the world and every style from tap to swing to break dance.
“There is an advantage in dancing here because you dance with people from many different places around the world and they can help correct your technique,” said Maria Luisa Santos, a Utah resident who recently emigrated from Peru, where she participated in various cultural dance presentations. “I’ve danced dances from Argentina, Colombia and other places before ... but here I have danced with people in my group, Folklore Latino, and they have shown me how to dance with details.”
A Utah native who has a lot of experience with all types of dancers is Joy Beck, former owner and current employee of Dance Works, a store that sells everything dance.
As to why there has been such an impact nationally from Utah dancers recently, Beck said, “There are lots professional studios and people are trained well, so when people go to compete nationally, they do very well. I talk to my reps from all of the United States and they go to shows while they’re here and they say that this is the best place for performances. Compared to other places in the United States, this is where there is the most and best dancing.”
Beck said the LDS culture has a strong impact on the number of dancers found in Utah.
“What I found out is that LDS parents like their children to be involved in culture, and so they’re willing to pay for that opportunity,” Beck said. “And so you get a lot of children who get involved in the arts. I always tell my clients, ‘What’s a better baby-sitter than dance? Children are off of the street and it gives them a focus in life and something to do that’s fun and that builds a lot of discipline.’”
For those who were frustrated searching in vain for the BYU Snowriders club, be frustrated no more. Wax up the boards and dust off the skis, Snowriders is now an official BYU club and breaking ice with an opening social.
After months of petitioning, advocating and meeting with BYUSA, the students pushing for a Snowriders club were rewarded with official club status.
This means the group is now officially aligned with the university and can meet on campus freely and advertise on campus.
“We are really excited because this is the first event ever,” said Andrew Coleman, one of the students who helped the club become official. “We hope students would get involved in the Snowriders club. As we form the group for the first time we are interested in building the BYU skiing and snowboarding community.”
There will be a free opening social tonight at 8:30 in the Varsity Theatre in order to officially get the club moving.
“We are very excited to get things rolling and to provide students with opportunities not available in the past,” said Jack Gerard, club president. “The opening meeting will be a fun and energetic event to get students excited about the upcoming winter season. I’m really excited to finally be holding an event on campus, and am grateful for BYU’s support of our ideas.”
The Snowriders club will present the snowboarding movie “Black Winter,” and there will be refreshments and information about resorts and the club along with free giveaways throughout the night.
“All are welcome,” Coleman said. “People who have no experience are especially encouraged to come. The first club meeting will help those with no experience get oriented with what to do for the season.”
Not only will the activity be fun for those who enjoy winter sport movies, it will also be useful for riders who go to the same resort to mingle and exchange contact information.
“The Snowriders club represents an opportunity for students to come together not only under a common interest, but to serve other students and the community,” Gerard said. “A BYUSA sponsored snow club represents BYUSA’s new approach to creating social and service opportunities for students.”
As the season progresses, club leadership promises many more activities and will be implementing their mission statement with a vengeance.
According to the club link on the BYUSA page: “The mission and the purpose of the organization will be threefold; service, education and safety, and community. We plan on serving by providing a fun environment where students can join together and serve the community.”
For more information about the opening social and the club in general, visit the Facebook page: facebook.com/byusnowriders.
Lay paper flat lengthwise on the table, fold one edge to meet the other, open, fold one corner to the other … repeat … 123,000 times.
BYU’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts will present “A Thousand Cranes” this coming February. In conjunction with the production, the department is striving to prepare and display 123,000 folded paper origami cranes for an exhibition.
According to an article written by Frederick Melo, two girls from Minnesota decided to fold a paper crane for each Japanese-American who was placed in the Topaz Internment Camp during World War II to display with their class project of a documentary about the same subject.
After the project, Melo wrote, “The remaining cranes will go to the Topaz Museum under design in Delta, Utah, near the site where more than 8,000 Japanese-Americans were interned.”
Enter BYU.
The Department of Theatre and Media Arts has undertaken a service project to put cranes on 3-foot-long strings so they can be displayed. The paper cranes are on loan and arrived about a month ago in 27 large black trash bags.
But the folded treasures inside are anything but trash.
The department is now busy stringing together cranes and is calling for all BYU students to volunteer to participate in the project.
“It’s an opportunity to learn about history, other peoples and other cultures,” said Ken Crossley, marketing manager for the department. “It’s a chance to expand horizons and to realize how our actions affect other people.”
Volunteers can pick up kits at F-315 in the HFAC which each consist of 700-800 folded cranes, a seven-inch needle, string, and metal washers. Those who wish for more information can e-mail [email protected].
One of the first kits checked out and stringed was by a man named Reggie Nozawa. Nozawa was born in California but was placed in an internment camp in Poston, Ariz., with his family when he was six months old. He lived there until age five.
“I have always been interested in the camps,” Nozawa said. “But I never talked about it because for the first 40 years, it was something that I thought of as shameful.”
Nozowa said he was moved by this experience and in a letter he included with his completed crane strings, he said he was glad to have been able to serve.
Even former counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, Chieko Okazaki, who has family members who were placed in internment camps, has lent a hand to string some cranes.
This weekend the cast for the play “A Thousand Cranes” will travel to the Topaz Internment Camp site to get a first-hand look at what Japanese-Americans went through during World War II.
“The play is based on the true story of Sadako, who discovers she has radiation sickness 10 years after the bombing of Hiroshima,” Crossley said. “After learning about the legend of a thousand cranes in the hospital, she starts folding paper cranes in hopes that the gods will grant her one wish: ‘This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.’”
The play will be presented in February and the goal is to have the display of the 123,000 paper cranes ready by then.
“I think it is really fulfilling to know you are taking part in something bigger than yourself,” said Danielle Hale, a student volunteer. “It makes you feel connected knowing that every single crane you touch represents a person who was put into an internment camp.”
You’re stopped at a light in downtown Provo on a typical Friday afternoon when out of nowhere hundreds and hundreds of bicyclists ride past you with music blaring.
You just witnessed Provo’s latest Critical Mass event.
Critical Mass is the name of informal groups of cyclists around the world who meet monthly to ride together around the streets of various cities. It started in San Francisco in 1992 and is now a global phenomenon.
The Provo Critical Mass is held on the first Friday of every month. The group meets in front of the Provo Courthouse at the intersection of Center Street and University Avenue at 5:30 p.m.
“Critical Mass is all about positive promotion of biker awareness,” said Jacob Hinton, an avid cyclist and UVU student. “It’s really fun and I try to go whenever I can.”
The monthly rides roll through cities, often disregarding traffic laws as the mass clings together, blocking traffic and ignoring red lights.
According to the Provo Critical Mass Facebook group, the goal of the cyclists is somewhat undetermined.
“While the ride was originally founded with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to bicyclists, the leaderless structure of Critical Mass makes it impossible to assign it any one specific goal,” reads a message on the group’s page. “In fact, the purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and traveling as a group through city or town streets.”
There have been many conflicts around the country between drivers impatient with cyclists not yielding, leaving people injured and damaging both cars and bicycles. Just a month ago in Ogden, there was an altercation which resulted in four cyclists being arrested. However, Ogden authorities have taken steps to accommodate both the cyclists and the community.
Here in Provo, there are mixed opinions even among cyclists as to the value of Critical Mass.
“I think it’s a bad idea because it aggravates other people, especially drivers,” said Marty Denna, a UVU student who works at a local bicycle shop in sales and repairs. “I understand getting biker recognition, but I think there’s other better ways to do it.”
Amy Ragsdale, a BYU senior from Dallas, said she enjoys Critical Mass but recognizes the potential dangers it can pose.
“I think that because of previous Critical Mass runs, they’ve changed the route,” Ragsdale said. “Last year there was even an accident caused when people were watching the riders instead of other cars.”
As a response to some of these issues, there have been counter movements in some cities in which groups ride, but follow all traffic rules. On the Provo Critical Mass Facebook page, participant Mel Crow wrote of his dissatisfaction with June’s event.
“I’m all for being safe, but stopping at the lights split up the group and now you no longer had a large mass, but a bunch of little groups spread all over,” Crow wrote. “I don’t believe that keeping the group together, through a red light, is more unsafe than stopping and splitting up the group. Some people hurrying to keep with the group and zipping through the intersection, and some stopping.”
Despite these opinions, there are many who enjoy the experience and are regular participants. The group is open to anyone.
“Critical Mass is the best party in Provo,” said Karl Von Drais, administrator for Provo’s Critical Mass Facebook page. “It is a fabulous way to bring people together for an empowering activity that they almost universally enjoy. Because of proximity and the unusual nature of the ride, people are at their best. They feel confident and up for making new friends.
After the ride people seem more willing to open their circle to new friends and share their plans for the remainder of the evening. It really is a warming and beautiful thing to watch.”
The next Critical Mass takes place Friday at 5:30 p.m.